The present invention relates to a wood splitting unit and particularly to a portable gas powered impact driven tool for splitting logs which is mounted on a power saw unit.
Among the more pertinent prior art is U.S. Pat. No. 4,188,987 to James which discloses a cone splitter carried on a splined shaft which runs perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the unit and which appears to be very awkward to use. In addition to the James patent, there are also commercially available log cone splitters which are coupled to the wheel hub on vehicles and are driven thereby. Such splitters are not portable and are extremely dangerous to use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,252,166 to Kozicki discloses a log splitter using two oppositely rotating augers driven by a power source through a gear reduction arrangement. This patent is merely of a background interest but it does show a portable unit. U.S. Pat. No. 65,303 to Tilton shows an early reciprocating wood splitter with a cam arrangement operated by hand.
Also of background interest are U.S. Pat. No. 3,371,724 to Crowell which discloses a power wedge and U.S. Pat. No. 3,160,217 to Raihle which discloses a mechanical hammer. Other prior art patents may, of course, exist and be pertinent since the above listing is not intended to be all inclusive but such patents are not believed to affect the patentability of the invention.
While the prior art discloses certain features which are relevant to the present invention, the patents do not disclose the particular threaded cone log splitter driven by an impact tool mechanism. There is also no disclosure of a log splitter driven by a chain saw power unit with the axis of the cone in the same orientation as the conventional blade. The wood splitting unit is readily adapted to a chain saw unit or other portable drive and hence is portable, easy to use and relatively inexpensive. The cone may also be removed and the arrangement will function as a portable impact tool.